Avengers Academy
by Cyberdrew
Summary: Wow, okay, you probably already looked over this just based on the title. Well, anyway, the Avengers find a Hydra facility filled to the brim with super powered people from different origins. They were rescued, but now they are receiving training from SHIELD to become the New Avengers, and to make sure they aren't brainwashed by Hydra. More details inside!
1. Chapter 1

**_What's up? Not dead, just busy. Had an idea that refused to leave._**

 ** _So I wanted to make a superhero story that wasn't just "Captain America threw his mighty Shield..." so I decided to go into the expanded universe. I don't think I'm going to be using the complete Cinematic canon, but for now, its a starting point. Whether characters like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are going to appear are still in the air._**

 ** _Not based on the iPhone game._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

"Stark! Report in!" The Captain stalked through the abandoned facility. The other Avengers are taking care of the remaining Hydra agents outside. Among the chaos, they lost one of their teammates. "Stark! Where did you-?"

He entered a room filled with human sized containers littering the room in rows. Each one had a young man or woman inside, floating inside a green liquid with wires and equipment hooked up to them. Stasis chambers; too many to count.

The Captain set his jaw. He wasn't surprised or in awe. The more of this new Hydra he saw, the more of the old war he saw. No such thing as an original sin.

He spotted Stark, his armor standing guard next to him. He was huddled over a computer screen, stabbing his fingers away at the keyboard.

The Captain walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Tony."

Stark jolted up and spun around, eyes wide and unfocused. "Hey," he greeted. "We win?"

Rogers glanced over at the tubes. "Not so sure," he answered, "What happened here?"

"They're us," Stark answered incredulously. Steve gave him a strange look. He shook his head and corrected himself. "I mean, not _literally_ us. They're supposed to replace us."

"I'm not following," the Captain answered, "Why would Hydra want to make Avengers?"

"They've been hiding inside of SHIELD for seventy years, right?" the genius said, "Why wouldn't they? I mean, if any of us ever died, they'd have the next generation right here. They have weird little versions of us down here. They could make whatever team they want."

"How many are down here?"

"I don't know," he answered, "Yet." He then added, "It's going to take me a while to break open the pod-people. Tell Banner to get down here when he gets the chance."

"Tony," Cap grabbed his shoulder. "Can we help them?"

…

* * *

She could feel the walls closing in around her.

They weren't really, of course, but she'd been stuck in this room for three days now. She marked the wall above her bed for each day she's been here.

She wasn't sure why she was here. She assumed it was some kind of prison. She doesn't remember doing any crimes. The only thing she was sure of…

Well, her reflection confirmed that what happened to her was certainly not a dream. She was strapped to a table in the middle of a cult's ritual. Maybe she was dead? She could see the possibility that this was Hell. White walls in a ten foot by ten foot room with nothing to do but look at yourself in the mirror.

No, she decided, she wasn't in Hell. Last she checked, Hell didn't have a (somewhat) comfy bed. Nor did it provide a working sink and toilet. It certainly didn't provide food on a tray under her door with a plastic spork.

A knock on her door jolted her out of her day dream.

Ah, she remembered, and Hell didn't have its own psychiatrist. Or did it?

The door opened to reveal the good doctor. She didn't understand how a doctor could possibly be as shredded as he was, but her head was swimming with enough questions.

Doc Samson closed the door behind him and greeted her with that same irritating smile. He wore a lab coat over a tight red t-shirt and casual jeans. Along with his muscles that shouldn't exist, his hair was green. Why not, right?

"Good morning, Miss Grant," Samson greeted. "How are we feeling today?"

"I didn't get my milk this morning," She answered dryly.

Samson smiled. "Still retaining our sense of humor, I see."

"I've got nothing to do in here but think of witty banter," She answered. "Still waiting to get out though."

"Why do you wish to leave so badly Miss Grant?" The Doc questioned kindly. "Do you have family?"

She nodded. "I have a family back in California. My boyfr... My friend is training to become a police officer."

"A respectable job," Doc agreed. "What do you remember; before coming here, that is?"

"I was going home," She recalled, like she had done a thousand times in her head, "I got…kidnapped, I think, by these weird cultists. They were worshipping some sort of cat-god, or something. They were doing a ritual and… this explosion caved in the building. I thought it was the Avengers, or SHIELD, but…"

She didn't finish.

"It was Hydra," Doc concluded.

She nodded.

"I should be dead," she thought aloud, "Shouldn't I?" She looked at her own hands. "I mean, how am I supposed to go home? Looking like this?"

Samson shook his head, "Miss Grant… Greer, there's nothing wrong with you. Yes, you're different, but that doesn't mean your life is over. The reason we've kept you here for so long, is that we're putting the finishing touches on a facility for people like you."

"What?" Greer's ears perked up. "People like…me?"

"You are not the only unfortunate soul to fall victim to Hydra's schemes," he assured her. "The only thing we need is your answer. Would you like to go home, right away? Or would you like to use your new abilities to the fullest? Would you like to become an Avenger?"

Greer looked down, contemplating.

"You'd still be free to see your family, either way," Samson added, "But I just wanted lay down all your options."

She stood up and walked over to the sink, looking up at the mirror. Her reflection was not a comforting sight, but she looked anyway. Maybe she was better off not going home just yet.

"…I think," she answered, "If I'm going to be a superhero, I'll need a new name."

Doc nodded, "I see. And what shall we call this new identity of Greer Grant?"

"It's my only identity, until I can go back to being human," she snapped decisively. She looked down at herself, down at the orange fur that covered every inch of her body. The claws on her hands replaced her fingernails, her ears were on top of her head now, in the shape of a cone. On top of all of that, she had a cat tail to go along with it. The black stripes on the fur only confirmed her super hero codename of whatever.

"Tigra," she decided. "The Avenging Tigra."

"Very well," Doc smiled pleasantly, "I'll have them save you a room, then. Welcome to the New Academy, Miss Gran- Er, I suppose its just _Tigra_ now."


	2. Chapter 2

The car dropped her off at the manor's front door. A large house in southern California with ridiculously high walls around it. The Avenger's Insignia was out on the front of the house. A bit on the nose for Grant's taste, but whatever. At least here there was no chance of any onlookers trying to sneak a peek from outside. Complete privacy from the outside world.

Tigra couldn't exactly wear her regular jeans and jacket. All this fur was hot enough with the shorts and t-shirt she had on now. Even the shoes were too much, and she opted for her flip-flops. Similarly light clothes were packed in a sports bag over her shoulder. She felt more comfortable just lounging around her cell in her underwear, but that was never going to happen here. The idea that other people were going to see her as the cat-girl she currently was going to be awkward enough.

"Right," she told herself, "Baby steps."

She stepped through the front doors and whistled at the impressive architecture inside. This place was beautiful.

Further in the building, she spotted a crowd of people. Maybe that's where the new students were meeting?

As she walked over to them, she noticed a few things. For one, they were all wearing the same kind of jeans and green shirt. Some of them must be twins, because some them…

Wait, no, _all of them_ had the _exact same face_.

When Tigra saw this, she froze in her tracks. She didn't know how to react, what to do. Were they soldiers? Clones? She saw a horror movie about clones once, it didn't have a happy ending.

Too late to act, one of the boys saw her and smiled.

"Hey!" he said loudly, "New girl!"

The entire gang of boys turned towards her and smiled in a way that unsettled her. Well, the situation was unsettling enough, but regardless. She ran past them, down a hallway. Down at the end of it was a set of double glass doors leading outside. She had to get away from the mob of freaks. All the while, they called after her.

"Hey! Wait!"

"We're not gonna hurt ya!"

"We're not just cat-calling here, we swear!"

She ignored them and sprinted towards the door, losing her flip-flops somewhere along the way.

She burst through the doors to see a large group of people.

"Help!" She said, "There's someone- something chasing me!"

Everyone was on guard and waited as the group of young men followed her out the door.

"Madrox!" Captain Rogers (Whoa. _The_ Captain America?) called out from the makeshift stage. "I told you to take it easy with the powers. You're supposed to be greeting the guests and showing them where to go."

The group of boys collectively rubbed the back of their necks and just looked ashamedly. As they watched, their numbers shrank as one of them stepped forward. The lookalikes seemed to disappear within each other, one absorbing all the rest. After a few seconds, there was only one boy left, and he nonchalantly held up some cards.

"Sorry, Cap," he said sheepishly. "Her car was running late, and the guys and I just wanted to play a game of cards real quick."

He then turned to Tigra. "Jamie Madrox," he introduced himself, but kept his distance, seeing that she still wasn't comfortable with him. "Also known as the incredibly handsome Multiple Man. People have always said I was too much, but that's only because they know me!"

The people around Tigra seemed to collectively roll their eyes. Apparently this was nothing new to them.

"Well," Rogers sighed. "I think everyone scheduled to be here is here, so let's take our seats and get started."

Tigra took a minute to see what the crowd was standing around for. Rows of wooden folding chairs were placed in rows in front of a stage. Most of the people were wearing business suites or Shield uniforms. Suddenly, Tigra felt very inappropriately dressed.

She jumped as someone grabbed her arm. She turned to see a woman with pretty red hair and casual attire. She smiled like a friend.

"Students sit up at the front, sweetie," she told her kindly.

"Oh," she said, "Thanks."

She sat on the outside seat, on the edge of the row. Ready to make a break for it again if she had to. Her attention was brought to the stage. The lady who told her where to sit was up on the stage with some of the other Heroes.

"Sorry, just…" the Captain looked over his cards. "I hate being on a stage."

A few people in the crowd chuckled.

"Well, first I'd like to welcome all staff to the world's first Academy for super powered individuals," he started. "A little over a year ago, the Avengers formed to take on threats that no hero could take on alone. We became more than just a team of soldiers and scientists, we became a family."

He scanned the crowd for a moment.

"I'm sure you all have a reason to be nervous," he continued, "This is all new territory for everyone. This school is built to train the next generation of Avengers, whether they're human, Asgardian, or something new altogether. I believe that anyone can be an Avenger if they choose to be. Now, let's welcome our new students with a round of applause."

The crowd and people on stage clapped vigorously. The people down the row with her smiled, glad to be put on a pedestal, but Tigra didn't appreciate the attention. She didn't blame anybody, but she just waited for the day to be over.

Soon, after the speech was done and they sent them off, Tigra was escorted to her room. They were free to mingle with the other people and eat the food on the table, but Grant wasn't in the mood for conversation. The lady opened the door for her and stood aside.

Tigra stepped inside, noticing that there were two beds.

"Am I sharing this room?" She asked the lady.

"Yes, I believe so," she answered.

"Any idea who?" She questioned further.

"I'm afraid not Miss Tigra," she answered.

"Okay…" she thought for a moment. "Thank you."

She nodded and closed the door behind her, leaving Tigra alone.

She dropped her bag and climbed into the bed. She was afraid of meeting people while looking like this, and she thought "Aw, screw it. What does it matter what they think? I'm a cat-girl now, so what? Is that really the weirdest thing to have happened?"

But now all those looks flooded her mind. _Human, Asgardian, or something completely new_. Was that directed at her? Who else could it have been? Certainly that clone-boy was more human than her. At least he looked like a real person.

She shed her extra clothing and tried to hide under her sheets, trying to sleep away her problems.

* * *

Nick Fury looked over the files on his desk.

"How many students do you have?"

"Eight so far," Stark answered, "I have more pod-people…children coming in soon."

"Who'd you get to be a part of this?"

"The Avengers are taking turns," Tony answered, "We have a schedule in place, and we'll switch out every now and then. For now, our main stars are Agent Romanov, Rhodey, Banner-"

"You're letting Bruce Banner take a teaching position," Fury stated, "In a high school."

"He said it's his dream job," Tony put up his hand defensively. "Always wanted to be a teacher, but never got the chance… You know how it is."

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that he has both a relative, _and_ a former love interest in this facility of yours?"

Tony shrugged. "You know me, Fury. I'm not the caring, sentimental type. These things just kind of happen on their own."

"Hm." Fury seemed somewhat amused. "You keep this act up and people are going to think you have a heart."

"No one would believe you old man," Tony quipped. "Now, I actually do have a meeting to go to and Pepper's been feeling ill. Can't afford to be late this time."

"Godspeed, ironman," Fury looked at the next file, and huffed. "Hercules. Right…"

 ** _What about you guys? Any particular Marvel superhero you want to see here? Come on, there's gotta be the_** **one guy** ** _you want to see in a Marvel Movie. Leave a comment!_**


	3. Chapter 3

She awoke the next morning to hear someone rustling through a drawer. Feeling another presence in the room, she spun around in her sheets to spot the intruder, only to be reminded that she was sharing this room with somebody else.

"Oh, Good morning," she greeted delightfully, "Sorry for waking you. Class is starting in a few minutes, so... I mean, I don't know what your morning routine for waking up late is, but..."

Tigra couldn't really believe what she was seeing. The woman was breathtaking; she stood just shy of seven feet, her muscles were thick and tight, and everything about her- from head to toe- was a deep shade of green. Everything except for the whites of her eyes, her gums, and her teeth.

She was speechless. She sat up from her bed, unsure of what to say. Her blanket fell off of her and she caught it, covering herself back up. Like she needed to be remindd that she was covered in fur. She turned her attention back to her guest, but ended up stuttering.

"Y-you are… You're the Hulk?"

"Eh," she shrugged, "Not really. My name is Jennifer Walters. Bruce Banner, the guy you're thinking of?" She pointed to Tigra and she nodded. "He's my older cousin."

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's…really cool," Tigra thought with a small laugh, but then a worrying thought occurred. "Wait, is that why you're… I mean, is that contagious?"

"What? No," Jennifer looked slightly offended. "I got…well, either lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it. This weird guy with a big head tricked me. He…he told me he's been in contact with Bruce, back when he was still hiding, and he told me he could put me in contact with him." She put hands out like she was pulling a show-stopper. "Plot twist: he was lying and exposed me to the same kind of Gamma radiation that made my cousin go green."

She sighed. "He got interrupted and ran away, I got abducted by Hydra, and the rest is history." She turned to Tigra and smiled. "But hey, I get to be an Avenger!"

Tigra, on the other hand, grew angrier the more she heard. It made too much sense for her to be here. She saw Jennifer at the rally, but she never saw anyone that stuck out like a sore thumb, not like her and Jenny here.

"Of course you're my roommate," she said bitterly.

"Excuse me?" the woman answered, oblivious.

"You don't see it?" She asked her. "The two freaks in the crowd have to share a room. 'Make them share a room because they don't fit in with the rest of us'!"

She threw herself back into her bed and turned in her covers so her back was turned.

There was a moment of silence from the giant woman. After what must have been fifteen minutes, she spoke.

"You think I wanted this?" Her voice started to raise. "You think I wanted to turn my hair and skin and _everything else_ about me green!?"

Another moment of silence passed. She spoke again, only much calmer.

"This may come as a shock to you," she said, "But I had plans of my own. I was supposed to be the best lawyer in the world.

"When his mom died and his deadbeat… when his _abusive_ father got thrown in jail, he had to stay with me and my mom for a while. And when that accident turned him into a monster, I had to watch as some big shot General went on live television, and lied to the whole country: 'Bruce Banner is a madman and a criminal'."

She took a breath. "I was young, and angry, and I wanted to ruin him. I wanted to take him for everything he was worth and more. I wanted to wrap him up in so many law suites and legal restrictions, that he'd be reduced to a groveling man on the street, begging for spare change."

Under Tigra's fur, her skin ran cold. To make an enemy of someone like that... She had to have some _deep_ hatred for him, or some deep love for her cousin.

"I started studying to become a lawyer," she continued, "so that I could shut down people like him, and protect good people like Bruce from crappy situations. But now..."

Tigra looked over her shoulder, seeing Jennifer look down at herself. "I'm just like him. I'm big, and green, and angry. I can relate to Bruce as a… well, a different Hulk. A superhero. I'm not sure if I can become a lawyer anymore, but I can still support my cousin, and help people as..."

She looked up to think it over. "What did Madrox call me the other day? The She-Hulk? Yeah. I like that. I'm Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk."

Tigra observed her carefully, recognizing that gleam in her eye and that smile that played on her lips. She was so proud to be this new version of herself. Even if she didn't feel that way right now, Tigra was almost certain that at some point in her life, she may have had a school girl crush on Bruce.

"I'm sorry for what I said," Tigra apologized. "It's just the heat that's getting to me. We're in southern California, and I'm covered in…" She waved her arm up in the air to show off her orange fur with black stripes. "All of this... I'm miserable right now."

Jennifer seemed to nod sympathetically. "Well, we're going to be late for class. There's an awesome shower in the bathroom that you need to try out."

* * *

The two girls jogged their way to the rest of the class outside, where they stood at attention in front of Colonel James Rhodes. Friend of Ironman; the amazing War Machine. He thankfully left the suite somewhere else, and decided to teach the class in a work shirt and jogging shorts. He had a whistle around his neck and a clip board under his arm, completing the illusion that he was a simple gym teacher.

He greeted them as they stood at the end of the lineup. "Ladies, the class starts at 8am sharp. We're running a school, not a hotel."

"Yes sir," they both answered sheepishly.

"What's that?" Rhodes leaned in like he was hard of hearing.

"Yessir!" they answered again.

"That's more like it," he turned his attention to the whole class. "We start the day off with some running, boys and girls! If you're not the athletic type, God help you. Let's move! First one to finish a lap gets a surprise!"

They lined up on the jogging track; a huge ring that surrounded the football field at the center. It didn't feel crowded at all, but this track was huge. It would take a year to run around the whole thing once.

"On your mark!" he raised his hand in the air as a flag.

The eight students got ready, sitting on their toes and fingertips like they were professional runners. One particularly bulky guy was grinning, brimming with confidence.

"Get set!"

"Let's make this a competition," Jennifer suddenly said next to Tigra. She waved her finger between the two of them. "Just us. For fun."

"Deal," Tigra flashed her a grin, which was probably terrifying to see. She noticed this morning that her fangs were definitely longer than when she was human.

"Go!"

The class launched themselves into a full sprint, but all too soon, the two girls seemed to surpass their classmates. She-Hulk and Tigra were neck and neck, leaning further and putting more energy into each step.

"Legs are longer," She-Hulk huffed out in a brag. They were going around the first bend. "Getting more distance out of them. You don't stand a chance, kitty-cat."

"Smaller," Tigra huffed back, "Leaner. Aerodynamic. Not as top-heavy."

She-Hulk laughed. "Oh, you are _so_ going down."

They leaned forward more, pumping out more energy out of their legs. They made it to the second bend before Tigra even knew what happened.

At the rate this race was going, it was going to end in a tie, and what fun would that be? The school can't have _two_ winners, can it? So she devised a devious little plot.

She trailed back, falling behind She-Hulk; much to her obvious delight. Then, a few feet out from the finish line, Tigra leapt forward, using her hands and feet to run herself right up on her competitor, and up her back.

"Ah! Ah!" Jennifer yelled out in surprise. She hadn't seen that coming. It might have also been that Tigra's claws were digging into her skin.

Oops.

Tigra planted a foot on Jennifer's shoulder and put all of her strength into launching herself forward through the air. She soared ahead of her competition and hit the ground, tumbling into a ball that rolled across the finish line. She didn't catch the look on Colonel Rhodes, or anybody else's face, but she imagined it was priceless. She came out of the ball crouched and skidding across the asphalt with her leg kicked out.

She looked up, back at her friend and teacher. Rhodes looked only slightly amused with a raised eyebrow, while Jennifer had her hands on her hips, an incredulous look gracing her face. She was smiling though, so she wasn't all that offended. Tigra stood up to walk back to them.

"Un. Real." She huffed out in a laugh.

Tigra couldn't help but spread her arms out and bow.

"You cheated," Jennifer playfully accused.

"No rules were given," Tigra defended. She turned to their teacher. "But she's right. I totally cheated."

The Colonel shook his head, his lips sealed in a tight smile. "Why don't you ladies have a seat? Drink some water while we're waiting for your classmates."

Tigra turned to see the rest of her struggling class. She felt bad that they got completely destroyed, but there was a small amount of pride that softened the guilt.

The two girls sat down and drank, watching on as her classmates fought to catch up. Madrox seemed to be deploying some sort of strategy that involved him carrying himself; it didn't seem to be working. She suspected that the two boys in the back didn't have any powers, at least not anything relating to their athletic abilities. The bulky guy from earlier seemed to be struggling with this blond girl, who managed to keep pace with him, fuss at him, and slap his shoulder all at once. Tigra could only catch snippets of their conversation.

"God of strength and sports?!" the girl suddenly raged. " _Hypnos_ has more energy in him, you sad, hairy lunk!"

"You want speed?!" the boy snapped back irritably, "Go to Hermes! Or, better yet, Hades!"

"Did you just-?" the girl looked astonished.

"I did, woman!" the boy's face was red, though from what, Tigra couldn't tell.

Soon, the class regathered, and the two victors helped pass out waters to everybody.

"Well," Colonel Rhodes paced in front of his students, "It appears we have a victor. Congratulations Tigra, you win the prize."

Tigra blinked, she had forgotten about the stakes. Did he say what she was racing for?

"Uh…thanks?" she said, "What'd I win, exactly?"

"A chance," Rhodes smiled at her. "When it comes to future exercises, Tigra will be the field leader."

Tigra looked around. Stunned by the idea.

"…What? Me?"

Rhodes seemed deeply amused; tossing his head back in laughter. "Don't break down just yet. This is a temporary set up. Everyone will have a chance to be the leader of this team, if they so choose. However, for the next three weeks, they will answer to you. And you, in turn, are responsible for them."

"Um…" Tigra tried to process this. "Why was this decided with a _foot race_?"

"Because I set a paper up on a dart board and let the Avengers pick which event to do," He shrugged. "It could have been anything. But, if you have that much of a problem with it, we can talk later. For now, we're playing a game of basketball! Four on four. Guys vs girls! Come on, let's move it!"

The class begrudgingly followed. She-Hulk clapped her shoulder proudly.

"Way to go, boss." She grinned at her. "You're calling the shots now. You got this."

Tigra was not convinced.


	4. Chapter 4

Tigra poked her head into the room she thought would be the faculty office. She spotted a young woman typing away at a desk, and she seemed none too pleased to be here. Probably not the person to ask for assistance.

"What do you need?" She suddenly barked out at her. She jumped in surprise but she stepped into the room.

"Sorry to bother you, Miss…" Tigra glanced at the name plate, "Hill?" Maria Hill? Where did she hear that name before?

"That's alright," she flexed her fingers at her desk, happy to have a break. "How can I help you?"

"Well, uh," she started, "Mr. Rhodes decided to make me the Field Leader of our class, and…"

"You don't want the job," Miss Hill guessed.

"No," Tigra admitted, "I don't, but I've thought it over and I thought I should…well, _try_ to be a good role model while I'm labelled as one. I just…I don't know where to start."

"Well," Hill shrugged, "there's no real way to be prepared for it. Being a good leader comes with experience, and the realization that whatever you decide, whatever decision you make, will affect other people. Both your immediate team, and the civilians who depend on you."

"Now I _really_ don't want this job," Tigra muttered under her breath.

"Well," Hill sat up, "I can give you some files we've made on each of you. They can give you details on where each of your stories when you were abducted, and what each of your…assets, are. They're just printed copies of what you told us when we found you."

"Okay," Tigra nodded, "That would help." And it would fit well in her antisocial train wreck of a life.

"I'll have these delivered to your room," Hill told her. "Is there anything else you need ma'am?" She was being totally facetious, but Tigra welcomed the humor. Then her eyebrows knit together. "Wait, isn't this your lunch period?"

"Um," Tigra took a step back, "Yes? I'll just get back to that…"

She hurried out of the office and speed-walked her way back to her room.

Lunch period? That's a laugh. Like she wants to talk to anybody else while looking like this. She can go out and buy her own-

Oh wait, no she can't. There weren't any rules about leaving the campus (at least, none that she's heard) but she couldn't exactly walk down to _Chipotle_ while swishing her tail around. She could see a mother pulling her child close as she walked by. Plus, she had no money. That was another issue.

Great… Well, her options are to A) skip lunch and social contact with _everybody_ here as long as physically possible, or B) face the fact that she was going to have to _talk_ with _somebody_ about her new, furry hide.

She curled up into a ball and let out a disgusted breath. Option A it is.

* * *

She had to leave to attend her other classes, but when she returned, a vanilla envelope sat on her bed.

"Awesome," She breathed a sigh of relief. "Now I can start being a leader."

"What's that?" Jennifer asked behind her.

"Files on our fellow classmates," Tigra answered happily. "With this, I'll be a better leader, and I can make better calls on the battle field."

Jennifer just stared at her like she was crazy. "…Or you could have just talked to them," She waved her arms to the door. "They're not all that bad, really."

Tigra just hugged the papers closer, not answering.

"You're afraid of…" Jennifer seemed to realize, "Okay, look. I spent the whole day with those weirdos, and let me tell you; most of them are weirder than us."

Tigra sat at the center of her bed, legs crossed and opening the envelope. "I'm... not ready to face them. I'd feel better if I just… _knew_ a little more."

She paused, her fingers on the papers inside, ready to slide them out, she didn't know why she was waiting on She-Hulk's approval.

Finally, the green woman sighed. "Okay," she said, "You're the boss, boss. Let's learn about our teammates."

She then flopped herself next to Tigra, leaning in eagerly. "I want to know if they got any secrets…" she said jokingly.

"Okay…" Tigra pulled the papers out and laid them out in front of her. "Let's see… Jamison "Jamie" Madrox, a-k-a the Multiple Man. Ability to generate an aura that divides his physical self and his clothes in an unknown number. No immediate limits of his abilities are in sight."

"Ugh," Jennifer said next to her. "An inifinite number of Madrox's invading my personal space. No thank you."

"Though he does seem to have difficulty keeping his " _Dupes_ -""

"It says _dupes_?!" Jen said excitedly.

"Yes," Tigra continued, "-his _dupes_ around for longer than an hour at a time. They grow weak afterwards and only continue to do so. Possible death for the dupe is possible if not re-acclimated to the host. It is possible that this can be extended with training."

"What do you think happens if he absorbed a dupe that died?"

Tigra shook her head. "I'd rather not think about it."

She pulled out another paper. "Hercules."

"Yeesh," Jen rolled her eyes. "This guy would _not_ shut up. What's his real name?"

"Doesn't say."

"Seriously?"

"Claims to be the actual god of Olympus banished to earth. No evidence to support this claim. Hercules does however possess super human strength, and studies suggest that he is skilled in Greek styled wrestling, sword play, and archery. DNA does not match with any identified person in any world database."

"The only thing I know about Greek mythology is that nobody could keep it in their pants, and a lot of people died because of it."

Tigra nodded, moving on.

"Athena," She read, "often called "Minnie" by Hercules, who claims to be her younger brother. True identities of both subjects is being called into question."

"Minnie?" Jennifer wondered next to her.

"Short for Minerva," Tigra explained, "It's the name Romans gave Athena." She turned back to the file. "Shown to have talent for strategy and hand-to-hand combat. Found with a shield that she refuses to part with, claiming it as a gift from her father (Zeus). The shield gives an unsettling feeling to those who see the face on the front."

"Come on," She-Hulk said incredulously, "Am I expected to believe that these two are actually-?"

"You saw Thor in person."

"Yeah, and I'm still in shock!" Her eyes were wide. "His arms were huge!"

Coming from her, Tigra had to bite her lip. "Moving on," she said, "Dane Whitman."

She-Hulk ogled his picture. "He's cute."

"Nephew of Nathan Garrett," Tigra read, to her horror. "Also known as…The Black Knight?"

The two girls made eye contact. They knew who the Black Knight was. As the story went, some psycho in England decided to build all of this equipment and weapons to fit the name he'd chosen. He claimed to be the descendant of Sir Percival; a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. The man was a genius mechanic having built armor, energy weapon, and a hovering craft that he could fly in. He dispensed "justice" all around the UK, before an officer with a lucky bullet took him down. The media ate it up, spreading the story around, until it became the number one story over here, in the US.

Tigra wasn't sure why so much attention was brought to it, she knew she felt horrible for all those people that died over there. But that was all before heroes like Ironman and the Avengers came along. That could never happen again… Right?

"It says he doesn't have any powers," Tigra informed her friend. "It just says he brought a sword here from his home."

"I saw him with it," Jennifer told her. "He's sitting there, at _our_ lunch table, with a sword strapped to his back," She crossed her arms angrily, "Oh, and it's magic too."

Tigra turned to her. "What?"

"Yeah," She-Hulk shrugged, "You'd have to ask him about it. I didn't believe him."

Tigra decided to move on. "Okay. Please be someone less scary," she prayed, "Donald "Donny" Gill, coined as _The Blizzard_ by the media."

"Who…?" Jen stopped her question to listen.

"Originally a student at the SHIELD Training Academy, Donny was an aspiring scientist, hoping to help reverse the effects of Global Warming on our planet."

"I don't like where this was going," Jen commented.

"Donny accepted unauthorized assistance from Hammer Industries on a project he had been working on, and was expelled. Allegedly, someone turned on the machine and blanketed the school in ice and snow for a week. Shortly after the machine activated, he vanished, having supposedly been kidnapped by Hydra."

"Allegedly? Supposedly?" Jen wondered.

"I guess Shield has their doubts," Tigra observed.

"Okay," She-Hulk put her hands up, "Not counting us; that's five out of six. The last one can't be that bad, right? What's-her-name? Jessica? Yeah, Jessica's nice. She's cool."

Tigra held up the last paper. "Jessica Drew, codenamed the Spider Woman. She has shown to have the ability to crawl on walls, generating pheromones, generating bio-electricity through her hands, as well as enhanced physical attributes and senses."

"She can do everything a spider can," She-Hulk cracked. "And maybe a little more."

"The only Hydra captive to be confirmed as an active field operative in Hydra priority missions. Claims that she no longer wishes to be associated with them, and wishes to come work for the Avengers."

Tigra set the paper down, while She-Hulk stood up to pace the room.

"This is…" She seemed so heartbroken. "I mean… Come on!"

She turned to Tigra. "Two criminals, two nut-jobs, and a _former_ Hydra agent?! _That's_ what we're working with here?!"

"Jen," Tigra climbed off her bed. "Jennifer, calm down!"

She finally grabbed her wrists. "We _cannot_ freak out right now," she told her, "I know this is bad, okay? But we don't have the whole story. We have the Shield skeptic interview story, okay? They're world security, they're _supposed_ to be skeptic. You talked with them today; do you really think that they're all bad people?"

"I…" She seemed to think it over. "I guess not. Hercules and Minnie were funny to watch. They argued a lot. Donny was quiet, but Jessica and Dane were good to talk to."

"Okay," Tigra sighed. "Well, at least we know why they brought all of us here."

"Why is that?"

"To make sure we're not Hydra sleeper agents," Tigra answered. "To make sure we don't go around killing people or sacrificing them to a cult. We'll just have to keep our eyes open, okay?"

Jennifer looked past her, back to the files splayed out on her bed.

Tigra marched over, stuffing the papers back into the envelope. "I'm putting these away. I've seen enough of them."

"Can I hold onto those?" Jennifer asked. For a woman over six feet tall, she knew how to sound small. "I just…I kind of want to see what they put down for us."

Tigra thought for a moment, wondering what they did in fact typed down for her file. Then she decided she didn't want to know.

"Go ahead," She handed the envelope over. "Try not to let it go to your head."

After handing the files over, Tigra changed into a nightshirt and tried to get as much sleep as she could, for all it was worth.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey."

Tigra felt her roommate shake her shoulder. She groaned, trying to fall back asleep. "What…?"

"Time to get up," Jen told her, lightly tugging on the covers with the care an elephant's trunk would apply. "Judgement day is here."

"Tell it to come back after four," Tigra pulled back, turning into them.

"Today's our first day of combat practice, and we can't go into battle with our new leader under the sheets."

"Hm…" Tigra disagreed.

Jennifer sighed and seemingly gave up. She could be heard walking away, but then pausing.

"Captain America is teaching us today."

Tigra's ear twitched, turning on her head treacherously.

"And we just got our combat uniforms," Jen pushed forward.

Tigra turned her head, seeing her friend hold up some black material.

"Gimmee," Tigra held out her hand.

She-Hulk then played a game where she held the cloth just out of reach from Tigra's fingertips, and she then foolishly followed until her entire upper half was hanging off the bed. She fell to the floor with a thud.

"I hate you."

"You have a funny way of saying love," Jen quipped back. "Seriously though, go shower. We're going to be late."

* * *

Tigra examined herself in the mirror after pulling her hair back in a ponytail (That is so weird to have to pull your hair around your ears). Have dressed up in this uniform of hers. It was black, with orange lines running down the sides. It hugged her body and fur, but she could breathe in it. The uniform was a one piece suit with short sleeves and legs that only went down to her knees. It was sleek, it looked cool without being sexy, and it she could wear it comfortably. There was even a hole for her tail.

"This is…" She said, amazed.

"What do you think?" Jen asked through the door.

"It's awesome!" Tigra answered. "I can anything in this!"

"Bruce said it wouldn't tear easily," Jen informed her, "but there's only so much armor he could provide and still make it comfortable."

"Well, it's either this or the black bikini in my dresser," Tigra responded, "At least this one's modest."

"Alright, come on," Jen said, "We need to go before you fall in love with the mirror."

"Too late."

She opened the door to see She-Hulk's uniform. "Whoa."

She had gone for a bit different look than Tigra. She wore what looked like a one piece bathing suit that was white with purple sides. Along with purple shorts and black boots and fingerless gloves.

"What do you think?" She asked honestly.

"I think that us standing together look like peanut butter and jelly." Tigra snickered.

"Hey," Jen pointed a finger at her, but she was smiling. "That's enough of that."

They left and reached the training center, which seemed to be located in the basement. The décor from upstairs disappeared when they reached the lower levels of the house. There were metal walls and high tech security cameras in every corridor. Perhaps they were both for their safety, and the staff's.

They entered the room with the other students. And, sure enough, Captain flipping America was waiting for them with his shield in hand and regular, everyday clothes. He looked like he was just on his way to the store _la-di-da_ when he noticed a group of kids who needed to get their tails kicked. _Well, it's my civil duty as an American to open up a can of whoop_ -

"Hey, miss?"

Tigra jumped as she realized he was referring to her. "Yes sir?"

"You the leader of this outfit?" he asked, nodding over to the other kids.

Tigra could only assume he wasn't talking about her clothes and was talking about the other students. She looked over her shoulder. The other kids were spread out from the door like a trail of lost souls, each in their own state of dismay. Only Jennifer seemed to be paying attention to her.

"Uh… Yes?"

"Aren't you going to form up?"

"Oh…" Tigra realized. "Uh… Team! Line up! Here… Now!"

Some snapped their attention to her and followed her command, others looked at her irritably, and Madrox was still at the door.

The Captain appeared to be tired of waiting. "Team! Assemble!"

That got everybody motivated. They formed up next to Tigra and stood at attention like soldiers.

"It seems like we've got a lot to learn today." Captain Rogers paced in front of his class. "Being an Avenger means being able to do what needs to be done, regardless of your situation, and regardless of who you have to work with. Today, we'll play flag tag. The goal is to steal the flag off the belt of both of your opponents. You'll have exactly sixty seconds to determine your strategy and deploy it. We'll play in teams of two. When I count you, remember your number."

He started on Tigra. "One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Find your partner with the same number and grab a belt from the bin."

Tigra looked down the line to see who she was partnered up with, since it obviously wasn't She-Hulk. She spotted Whitman down the line looking back up at her. He pointed to her with a raised eyebrow. _You're the other One_?

Tigra had to fight a groan. She didn't not want to team up with the nephew of a terrorist. He approached her with an innocent smile. He had on a regular pair of jeans and a black leather jacket that was zipped half way up. The sword was in its scabbard, strapped across his chest. His brown hair was tousled in a weird way that it almost looked stylish.

"Howdy."

"Hey," she tried to hide her bitterness, but suspected that she failed. "Where's your uniform?"

"They're still working on it," he answered, "Stark and Banner are giving me some kind of protective armor. Just like a Knight! Only cooler."

Tigra tried not to roll her eyes. "Let's grab our belts."

They pulled two blue flagged belts out of the bin and clipped them on. Tigra spotted the others already getting friendly with their partners. She-Hulk had Hercules. Poor girl.

Tigra tried to recover herself.

"So I hear you have a magic sword," She started nonchalantly.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's a long story."

"What does it do?" She eyed the handle of the thing over his shoulder.

He chuckled. "It uh… I can't be wounded by certain elements. Fire, stone, wood, metal..."

"So you're pretty much invincible, uh?"

"Well, no," he answered. "I mean, a lightning strike or a pair of cement shoes and I'm done, but the sword needs… careful hands."

"What do you mean?" Tigra wondered.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's just say…if you start bleeding, stay far, far away from me."

Before Tigra even had the chance to inquire further, their instructor called for everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone got a partner?" Everyone nodded or muttered an answer. "Excuse me?"

Everyone stood to attention in place. "Yessir!"

"Everyone have their belt?"

"Yessir!"

"Than what are you all waiting for?" the Captain demanded, "Get to your posts!"

Rings of light appeared around them on the floor about an even twenty feet away from each other, with the Captain standing in the middle of them. Tigra and Whitman stood in one and waited. As soon as everyone was in their spots, a thick wall shot up, cutting Tigra off from two teams and raising the Captain up above them.

"Your sixty seconds start now!" the Captain informed them. "Anything goes, soldiers!"

Tigra looked over to her opponents. Madrox and Athena stood twenty feet away. Madrox was wearing a tight shirt that had some sort of technology designed on the arms and torso.

Athena looked like your normal, everyday blond girl with angry/determined grey eyes. She was in a black jumpsuit with shoulder pads designed to look like feathers. It had a close up of an owl's face stitched to the torso. The owl's eyes looked like they circled her…

Well, anyway, Athena was whispering something to Madrox from behind her shield, which had Medusa's face etched on it. The more Tigra looked at it, the more it unsettled her. She wanted to be as far away from that thing as possible. She shook herself out of it, she was the leader! She couldn't get scared now!

Whitman drew his sword next to her and took a stance.

"You take out Madrox," She instructed him from under her breath. "I'll take on the shield girl. I think I can get around it and take her out."

"What? No!" Whitman argued.

Tigra snapped a look at him.

"I don't think I can fight him without… anybody getting hurt," He looked down at the ground, ashamed. Meanwhile, their time was up.

"…And go!"

"Oh, fine," Tigra said, "Take her out!" She cut him off and charged towards Madrox on all fours.

Madrox immediately split himself into ten people and charged forward. Fortunately, he didn't- or maybe _couldn't_ \- duplicate his flag belt. The dupes charged towards Tigra, trying to surround her before she could get close, but they underestimated her athletic abilities. She jumped up, launching herself over their heads, and landed behind the crowd. When her feet touched the ground, she crouched, swiping her leg out. Four of them fell, while the others clumsily closed in.

Tigra somersaulted away, towards Madrox. Just one swipe of her claws, and she could win.

Then he sprouted three other dupes at her face. They grabbed her arms and pulled her back. The other dupe ripped the flag off her belt and held it up victoriously.

"No!" Tigra called out. Not when she was so close! She could have sneezed on it and it would have fallen off!

She watched as her partner clashed with Athena. Sword against shield, metal clanging against metal.

"Sorry, Catnip," one of the dupes told her. "In a fight, I _always_ outnumber you."

Tigra watched as Madrox- the _original_ Madrox- strolled over to Whitman from behind. Tigra could count the beads of sweat on his forehead, she wasn't sure he could win in a fight against Athena, let alone with some like Madrox as backup.

Then, with a flourish of his sword, Whitman turned around, thrusting his sword to Madrox.

"Gah!" he yelled.

But the black sword missed him. It did, however, loose the flag off his belt.

He turned his attention back to his original opponent, but she held up a flag of her own. Whitman checked his own belt, seeing that his was missing. He sighed, defeated, but smiled to Athena with a tired smile.

"Well played," he told her.

The dupes let go of Tigra and went back to their host. Tigra stood, embarrassed and angry. She marched over to her partner.

"What happened?" She asked him. "What, are you scared of Jamie? We could have had that if you didn't back down so hard!"

Whitman looked more ashamed than offended. He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"What is up with that sword?" Tigra pursued. "If you can't take blood, then why are you using a sword?"

"It's not like…" He seemed to be struggling to find the right words. Finally, he lowered his voice and whispered, "The Ebony Blade of Sir Percival is always thirsty."

"Aren't we all," Tigra quipped dryly.

"I _mean_ that it's looking for blood," he told her, an air of seriousness and worry expressed in his eyes. "If the Ebony Blade tastes death, it will corrupt the heart of the user and turn him into a monster among men. That's the price for being invincible in battle."

He took a breath, letting that little tidbit settle in. Tigra didn't know how to respond.

"My uncle couldn't use the sword," he confessed, "So he took it out on everybody else, saying that they're at fault for his unworthiness. I don't want to become like him, but I'm not skilled enough to use the sword without killing anybody. At least, not yet."

"Then," Tigra thought aloud. "Why do you use it?"

Whitman looked at her like he was wondering the same thing.

"I was just… I didn't mean to pull it out of the stone, I was just… I was messing around when we went to bury my uncle. I pulled the sword out, and now… It belongs to me."

"Why not throw it away?"

"Because it calls to me," he shook his head, "If I throw it away, I risk going crazy in its absence. I'm stuck with it."

"Alright, cadets!" The Captain's voice made everyone jump. "Form up!"

The wall lowered and the students formed up.

"From what I can tell," he told them, "Most of you have never been in a fight in your life. That's okay. We're moving on to boxing lessons. Basic bobbing and weaving, mile laps, push-ups, and death crawls for the rest of the day."

The class seemed none too pleased.


	6. Hoodlums Part 1

Tigra awoke from her slumber. It was in the dead of night, only a few minutes before midnight. The end of a day, in a week of vigorous combat training with Captain America. She hated to admit it, but she was getting use to life as a superhero. Even if she would never go back to being human, she could live like this forever.

Then she heard something in the distance. A scream, through the walls of the mansion and over the wall from somewhere in the town. At first, she thought if it was some kids messing around in the shopping center. Kids staying up late and causing mischief.

Then she heard another scream, and some car tires screech off in a hurry.

Her curiosity got the better of her (Har-dee-har, Madrox), and she jumped out of bed. She silently slipped on her uniform and quietly exited the room. She made her way outside without incident, and scaled the wall with ease.

She pulled herself up to look out onto the town, then she spotted a girl, standing in the middle of the street. She swung herself over the wall and hit the sidewalk.

She jogged up to the girl, whose clothes were ripped and was sobbing into her hands. "What do I do? What am I going to do?" she cried hopelessly.

"Hey," Tigra approached her cautiously, "Are you okay?"

The girl snapped her head up at her, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes widened and she only cried more.

"Oh my God," She backed away. She didn't really seem too eager to get away. Her face was red, and she was fighting to regain her breath while sobbing. If Tigra had to guess, she just spent the past few minutes running for her life, she didn't have the energy to start running again.

"It's okay," Tigra held her hands up. "I'm not going to hurt you. Look, see? I'm an Avenger."

She held up a student I.D. card, thank God for school picture day. "I help people," She told her, "What happened?"

" _Una tigre_? You're a…" She paused, thinking something over. Then she hid beneath her hair and put her hands in her pockets. "I… I'm fine."

"Yeah," Tigra agreed, "I'm fine too, and I'm covered in fur. Why don't you tell me who attacked you, and I'll handle it from there."

Putting the fear of God into a late night skirt chaser? Sounds like fun to her, but the girl shook her head.

"You don't pick a fight with him," She said something in Spanish, then switched over to English. "He killed the devil, and now he rules the streets."

Tigra stepped closer. "Who is he?"

"He took my friend," She sobbed, "We were on our way home, and they came out of nowhere. She had something they wanted, but she wouldn't give it to them. They just hit her and threw her in their car, and then they tried to…" She started crying again.

"Hey," Tigra went over and held her arms. "It's okay, it's okay. Hey, what's your name?"

"Sofia," she answered.

"What's your friend's name?"

"Patricia," She wiped her eyes and sniffed. "Patricia Walker. She's shorter than me, with bright red hair."

"I'm going to find her for you," Tigra promised. "Where did they attack you?"

She pointed to an alleyway behind them. "The street on the other side of these buildings."

"Okay, Sofia," TIgra told her. "This is what I want you to do; there's a McDonald's right over there. Go inside and call the police. Tell them what happened okay? They'll protect you."

She turned to leave her, but she grabbed her arm. Her eyes were pleading. "The Hood," she warned, "The Hood will kill you, and take your soul as forfeit."

Tigra wasn't sure she heard her right. Nobody calls it "the hood" anymore, do they?

"I'll take care of it," she promised the girl. "Just make sure you're safe, okay?"

With that, she walked away from the girl, walking through the alley and reaching the street on the other side.

"You'd make a kind goddess," a voice said next to her. Tigra spun around to see Athena leaning against the wall, waiting on her. "At least for the first few years."

Tigra glared at her. "What are _you_ doing out here?"

"To make sure you don't compromise my position in Avengers Academy," She answered. Well, at least she's honest. "What do hope to accomplish? Finding hoodlums in a city? You'd have better luck finding a goblet of wine in an ocean."

Tigra spotted the black marks on the pavement, where the car spun out its tires before taking off. She walked towards it.

"I've been surrounded by Police work and officers since I was old enough to read," Tigra answered her, "If I can't help that poor girl, then I'm not an Avenger. Not a good one, anyway."

She got down next to the tire tracks. Yes, she was surrounded by police work all her life, but those officers had teams of people. They had _labs_. So did she (technically), but she wasn't sure she could wake up all of Shield and convince them to get to work on finding one lost girl.

"Don't let your heart run off from you," Athena warned coldly, "Less it get shot with an arrow made of lead."

"What the _heck_ does that have to do with anything?" Tigra snapped at her.

"This is a hopeless task you've taken here," she told her, "Why do you waste your time?"

"You know," Tigra stood, "I don't know too much about _other_ mythological figures, but I _have_ read up on you and your "brother". Hercules was no more a hero than he was a thug and a bully. _You_ on the other hand, made two of the worst monsters in Greek mythology. So what does that say about you?"

Athena only stared back at her, angrily. "It's not mythology." She corrected.

Tigra rolled her eyes. "Right," she turned back to the rubber. "How foolish of me."

She used one of her claws to scrape up some of the rubber off of the road. There had to be _something_ here.

"Maybe it's easy for you mortals to pass judgement, but you should not do so without the full story," Athena then said.

"Oh this ought to be good," Tigra groaned.

"Many of my memories fail me; many universal secrets are lost to me, but I remember my actions," Athena admitted, "Turning Medusa into such an evil creature, do you think such an act of cruelty was taken so lightly? Medusa was my acolyte, and a friend, and she consoled me as much as I her." Her face looked pained by the memory.

"So why punish her," Tigra questioned, "If she was... _taken_ by Poseidon, why didn't you help her?"

"Because she wasn't _taken_ by Poseidon," Athena answered, the pain was obvious in her voice. "Poseidon thought it humorous, having an affair with one of my acolytes in my own temple. When I was told of this treason, I gave her the chance to tell me the truth. I wanted to forgive her, I wanted to continue our friendship, I didn't care about her relationship with the sea god, but she decided her façade was more important."

Athena turned to Tigra. Was that a tear running down her cheek?

"You want to help people so badly?" She questioned Tigra, "Despite what they can do to you? With your heart? With your soul?"

"I do," Tigra answered, "I'm sorry about your friend. None of us are perfect, but pulling yourself together after breaking apart is how we become stronger. It's how we help others. You want to be stronger? Then help me find this girl."

She turned her attention to the rubber sample. She smelled it, and touched it to the tip of her tongue.

"Fish," Tigra deduced. "and Eels. That doesn't tell me anything."

"I was watching your mortal television this morning," Athena stepped forward. "The mortals had shut down a warehouse a week ago for a mold infestation. It lies empty, and would make for an excellent hiding place for rats such as these."

"See?" Tigra smiled, "You're already doing so well. You have an address?"

"I do," She nodded, "But its on the other side of this city. How do suppose we get there?"

Tigra smiled evilly. "Well, I saw an entrance to the garage in the lower levels of the mansion."

"Yes, and…?"

"Do you know what they keep in garages?" Then Tigra realized who she was talking to. "Oh, wait, you really don't. We're borrowing a car. Or some bikes. I'm sure we've got some options."


	7. Hoodlums part 2

"Do you actually know how to drive!?" Athena held desperately to her seat.

"I… _would_ have gotten my license," Tigra admitted. "But I was too busy being abducted by a cult, and then by another cult. Why, do _you_ have a-"

"Road! Road!" She pointed out. "Keep your _bloody_ eyes on the road!"

Tigra redirected her attention and eased off the accelerator. The Shield jeep was not exactly the rolling tank Tigra wished it was, but it was the only that was left unlocked. She suspected it was used for carrying agents or equipment over sandy surfaces like the beach, but it worked just fine for the road.

"Right! Take a right, you foolish girl!" Athena was still panicking.

"I got it! Take a breath already!"

"We should have died eight minutes ago!" she shrieked.

"I know, now shut up!"

She slowed down and Athena seemed to take a breath. "I think it's around this corner."

"How do you know where everything is?" Tigra wondered, "None of us are supposed to leave the Academy grounds."

"I memorized the maps of this area. Your earthly information machines are quite helpful when simulating battle and invasion strategies."

"Oh. Okay…"

There was a moment of silence between the two girls.

"They're for defending the city," Athena then said, "Just to clarify."

"Of course."

They made the turn and spotted the warehouse down the street. Tigra turned off the lights and did a terrible parking job next to the sidewalk with two wheels on the walkway.

"Thank the mother Gaia you haven't killed us," Athena huffed in relief. "I _refuse_ to die in a car crash."

"Just shut up and get out," Tigra ordered. "We have thugs to stomp and a girl to save."

They crept up to the building and opened up a side door. There was a large group of people already inside, but thanks to several crates blocking their entrance from view, they remained hidden. They instantly went into a crouched position. Athena tugged on her tail, which Tigra would normally slash her for the offense, but when she turned to the blond girl, she only pointed past her. She wants to get up on the upper floors using the stairs.

They snuck their way up, careful not to cause any of the stairs to creak. The second floor was opened to the lower floor. When they approached it, they saw a crowd of maybe forty people down below. All of them were young people, boys and girls. They were all wearing foreboding robes.

Someone started nudging people, and they all pulled their robes over their heads. Somebody killed the lights, and everyone's attention was pulled to one end of the room, where a makeshift altar of some sort was illuminated by a series of candles. Out of the shadows, someone stepped forward, covered in a cloak.

This one's cloak seemed different; instead of some black robes, it was a dark red cape with a large hood that hid his face well. Though, from up here, Tigra could tell that he was broad shouldered, and she could spot the spike tipped boots from here. Whoever he was, he breathed a sort of superiority. No doubt that he was obviously feared.

" _Confound_ these mortal eyes!" Athena whispered under her breath. "I can't see a thing."

Tigra looked at her, perplexed. She could see everything just fine. Could it be… did her cat powers give her night vision?

"Welcome, newcomers," the man at the altar raised his arms in greeting. "Thank you all for coming. You will not regret tonight, as you will be initiated into a new empire. One with unlimited power. You will be well protected, and compensated for your troubles. To complete your initiation, this ritual is required. Power has a price, after all."

He turned to somebody out of sight. "Bring her in."

Some casually clothed thug walked in with a girl over his shoulder, and flopped her onto the altar. That was her; a scrawny girl with bright red hair. She was passed out cold, they probably used something to sedate her.

"With this sacrifice," the leader splayed his arms out wide. He had a knife in his hand. "The forces of the Nether will flow through here, endowing you with the strength to serve me."

"I've heard enough," Tigra muttered under her breath. Before she could stand, Athena grabbed her arm.

"We don't have enough information," she told her, "There's something…wrong with that one."

"Who cares?!" Tigra had to remind herself they were in hiding. "That girl's going to die! We're Avengers, we help people."

"Fine," she said, "You grab their attention. I'll sneak around to get the girl out. Once she's out of the building, I'll return to help you."

"Thanks," Tigra answered. "Now go."

She retraced their steps while Tigra stood up.

"Freeze!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. She could feel the entire room suck in air, including herself. She held up her Academy Card like it was a badge. "I'm an Avenger! You're all under arrest!"

The crowd below her seemed to let out a breath; a sigh of relief? These kids were forced to be here, but why? How was this guy so scary that he could force kids into a situation like this? After a few seconds of awe, someone down below started nudging people out the doors.

"It's the fuzz, man!" he said, "Run for it!"

The crowd broke out of their stupor and bolted for the doors. Tigra tried not to feel too offended by the pun.

"No!" The man at the front ordered. "Stay where you are! Kill her, and we'll-"

But they were all out the door before he could even finish. Tigra dropped to the ground where they were previously standing.

"Guess I'm scarier than you," She marched up to him. "It's over. You lost."

From under his hood, he smiled.

"You're an Avenger?" He grinned wickedly. "You can start avenging this worthless wretch!"

He plunged the dagger into the girl on the altar. She gasped for her final breath of air before collapsing back to the table and lying still.

"No!" Tigra charged forward, and launched herself at the killer.

He pulled the knife away as Tigra was in the air. She landed on him, knocking him to the ground and causing the knife to skitter across the floor, away from them. The hood fell back, showing his face. He didn't look that much older than Tigra. He glared up at her.

"I killed demons before," He told her, "I'll kill you too. Then I'll be even more powerful!"

"Shut up!" Tigra reeled her arm back and punched his jaw. Tears blurred her vision as she wrapped her fingers around his throat. "You're gonna pay. I swear to God, you're gonna pay!"

"Tigra!" Athena called from behind her.

She made the mistake of turning towards her comrade, splitting her focus. The man under her pulled her wrists off and grabbed the side of her head, slamming her into the hard floor. Her ears were ringing.

"Don't!" She heard her friend call out. The force above her lifted, and her vision focused enough to see Athena standing over her with her shield up. Its unsettling magic causing the hooded man to scramble away. As Tigra tried to sit up, her adversary stood and sprinted towards a wall. Where was he going?

He planted one of his feet against the wall, and then the other. He took two more steps up the wall, and stopped to look at them. He was defying the laws of physics and sticking to the wall like _that_ was the center of gravity for him. There were at least a five second count before anyone said anything.

"How in Tartarus?" Athena cursed. "What is this mortal?"

"Don't care," Tigra found her footing and shook her head of the nausea. "We take him down."

"Stupid girls," he cursed at them, "I am the Hood! I kill demons! I kill anyone that gets in my way!" He reached into his belt and produced a handgun. "And I'll kill you too. Your powers will belong to me!"

He actually fired twice. Tigra felt one of the bullets graze her arm. The other could be heard ping itself off of Athena's shield.

He seemed to be focused on hitting Tigra, so she moved out of the way, dashing through the room in an arc. He fired several more times, causing her ears to flinch, but her eyes were operating on overdrive. She saw where the bullets were going to hit, and she ducked and weaved and flipped herself out of the way. At the curve of the arc, Tigra gave her order.

"Nail him!" Tigra called out.

Athena slid her shield off of her arm and twisted the top half of her body, throwing the whole thing like a discus. The shield did not bounce its way back to her like Captain America, but it did smack him in between the eyes, causing him to howl in pain.

"How does Captain Rogers make those ricochet shots?!" Athena complained.

Tigra took this as her chance. She pounced on the wall, digging her claws as deep as she could, and pushed herself up to this "Hood" character.

She grabbed a fistful of his cape and arm, and flung him down to the ground, smashing an empty wooden crate to splinters.

The landing knocked the wind out of him, but he still managed to point the gun at Tigra. Too late to fire, as Tigra landed on his chest and knocked the gun away. Athena had just grabbed her shield. Either Tigra was exceptionally fast, or everyone else was exceptionally slow.

She looked down at her opponent, and raised her arm back.

"Tigra!" Athena shouted too late, as Tigra raked her claws across the Hood's face.

He put his hands up to the freshly opened wounds and screamed in pain, but Tigra wasn't done with him.

"Tigra, stop!" Athena cried again. "He's not worth it!"

Tigra stopped to consider that. "He killed that girl."

"Yes," Athena said, "He took away someone very special, I'm sure. Don't let him take anything else. This isn't about justice, this about your future. As an Avenger. As Greer Grant."

Tigra looked over to her. Athena was never the touchy feely one of their group. While the others were goofing around, she was reading "The Art of War" and making snide comments at her brother. Those same, no nonsense eyes were cast on Tigra now. She could almost believe the girl had a heart.

She didn't notice, however, the sucker punch the Hood threw from under her. He knocked her aside and stood up. He turned to her, his face cut and bleeding.

"Till next time, cat," he spat at her.

Then he disappeared, like a ghost. Like he was never here.

"How did…?" Athena looked around. "What magic is this?"

Tigra could smell blood, more than what was present in the room. They then heard one of the metal doors slam open with a screech of its hinges.

"He turned invisible," Tigra cursed under her breath. "Who the _heck_ is this guy?"

"That wasn't an Olympian weapon," Athena walked over and helped her up. "Only Hades carries the cap of invisibility."

"Sure," Tigra shook her head. "Whatever."

They looked over to the girl, and approached her cautiously.

"What was her name?" Athena asked.

"Patsy," Tigra answered after having to fight off the adrenaline. "Patsy Walker."

Tigra felt her heart trying to clamor up her throat. She felt sick. Her head was buzzing. She let this poor girl…

"What the…?"

She looked over the area where the girl was "struck." There was no blood, not even evidence of a wound. Then she started to shift like she was waking up. Her eyes fluttered open, and only widened as she saw the two girls standing over her. She checked herself over, running her hands over her stomach looking for the same, missing wound.

"What happened?" She asked, "Where am I? Who're you?"

"Easy," Tigra swallowed her fear and willed her hands to stop shaking. Be the big sister now. "My name is Tigra, and this is Athena. We're Avengers."

That seemed to calm her down a little, though now her head tilted in confusion. "Don't the Avengers live in New York?"

"West Coast branch," Tigra explained away. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Uh," She ran a hand over her stomach, where the wound should have been. "I'm…fine. I think."

Sirens could be heard closing in outside. Police were here. Time to explain themselves.

* * *

"So you're saying he got away," Nick Fury said through his laced fingers.

"Yes sir," Tigra sat straight in her chair.

"But you caught the followers," Fury suggested.

"N-no, sir."

"But you saved the girl."

"Yes sir."

Fury put his hands down and leaned back in his chair. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Miss Grant," he told her, "I am not a patient man. I am, however, a very busy one. I do not have the patience or resources to make sure you don't go sneaking off into the night."

"I-It won't happen again sir," Tigra assured him. "I won't be making a habit out of this."

Nick Fury gave a "Humph," and shook his head, rubbing his eye.

"Regardless of all the rules you've broken tonight," He stated, "You got out alive, and you saved the princess. Metaphorically. Go, get some rest, what little you can."

"Thank you sir."

She stood and calmly, yet quickly, exited the room. She didn't care what the official word was, Nick Fury's superpower is dissecting you, molecule by molecule, with his one eye.

Tigr slumped through the rec-room, pausing when she heard someone call her over.

"Tigra!" She-Hulk hurried over. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Tigra looked over and saw that light was shining brightly through the building, and everyone was out and about; eating and horsing around. At least, they _were_ before they noticed her walk through the room.

"Oh," Tigra scratched her chin, "You know… Went out for a stroll. Got caught, nothing big."

"I wouldn't say that!" Madrox commented from the couch.

"Your heroics are being praised, Tiger Woman!" Hercules held up a plate of thick pancakes like they were spoils of war. "Behold!"

Tigra stumbled in exhaustedly and gazed at the TV. The reporter was only guessing at what happened, but it soon turned to the two girls, both alive and safe and smiling.

"The only thing I'm sure of," the young red headed girl said, "Is that I'm here right now, because of the Avengers. I just wanted to say…Thank you, Tigra. Thank you, for everything."

Tigra looked at her teammates, who all in turn looked to her in astonishment.

Tigra sighed. She knew what had to be done.

"The only thing I did last night," She told them, "Was get lucky."

"Hey now," Madrox shot finger guns at her.

"It was a very real possibility that I could have died," She ignored him. "So now, we are going downstairs, and we are going to learn every stance, technique, and countermove we can so that when the time comes, we can defend ourselves. As well as others."

She held her fist up in the air, like how Captain America did it the other day. "Let's move out!"

Everyone scrambled and hurried toward the basement stairs. Today was going to be another long hard day.


	8. Hydra Attacks! part 1

The neighborhood was bright and sunny, the air was full of children's innocent laughter. A woman sat on the porch with a cup of coffee, sighing with sadness.

"I wonder how _my_ children are doing," she said wistfully.

"Madame," a young man said from the half opened door. "There's something on the news I think you should see."

They went inside and the living room, where the boy pressed play on the television. The news displayed a report on rumors of a new set of Avengers. One set in California instead of New York. Of course, when it comes to news reports, nothing is ever merely rumor, is it? News reporters do what Hydra paid them to do for seventy years now.

The woman smiled and sipped her drink. "My, my," she said, "What timing."

She turned to the boy who reported to her. "Grab your brother, will you? Tell him we've found the others."

She set her cup down on the table and walked up the stairs to get ready, with a smile on her lips.

"We know where they took my children," she said with finality.

* * *

"Go away."

Tigra blinked. She wasn't expecting such a blatantly rude response from the boy. Donny Gill was giving her quite the cold shoulder today. Well, he's given a cold shoulder to _everybody_. Given that Tigra was still the leader, (at least until everybody votes on Saturday) she felt a certain responsibility to figure what this guy's deal was.

Surely, she thought, if he was sorry for what he did as "The Blizzard" he would have tried to play nice, right?

"Is this seat taken?" Tigra tried again.

"What, you want my vote?" he snapped bitterly. "You can have it. I don't care."

Tigra had to fend off the cringing comment and sat down anyway. "I've noticed you've taken a disliking to combat practice."

"It's bull." He answered, "I don't have any powers like you and the Frankenstein's sister over there." He gestured to the other table, where the others were giving passing glances over to them. "I'm not some freak."

Tigra nodded. "Then what are you?" She asked, knowing full well the answer.

"I'm a scientist," he answered. "Not some brute like Tony Stark. You're here to be superheroes. I'm here to be a prisoner."

"So this is about Stark?"

His shoulders were hunched. Tigra could tell he was equal parts angry and embarrassed. She could actually feel how he felt. It was so strange. Miss Romanoff theorized that she has the ability of empathy, like an animal. She can read the emotions of other people around her.

He shifted uncomfortably.

"Why do you hate Tony Stark?" Tigra asked softly, making sure to keep her voice down.

He let out a breath through his nose. "He's made my life miserable."

He looked around for other people who might have been listening. He leaned forward and whispered, "I made a deal with Hammer Industries. To put the Stark family, and his company, into the ground. But instead of scientists and equipment, Justin Hammer came in himself and ruined my tech. He's the reason my school got iced over."

He leans back in his seat. "Does anybody believe that? No."

He shook his head. "Now, after getting kidnapped by Shield-"

"Hydra," Tigra corrected.

"Same difference!" He snapped at her. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "Now I have to work for Stark in this perfect little world that seems to revolve around him! And the worst part!" He leaned back in. "He _freaking_ knows it!"

With that, he stormed off and out into the hallway, muttering something under his breath. Tigra was left stunned. That was a whole lot of anger being pent up in one kid. Tigra wasn't sure what to do next. Before she could decide, She-Hulk patted her shoulder.

"I tried to warn you," she said sorrowfully.

Tigra shook her head and sighed.

"What do want to do?" Jennifer inquired.

Tigra thought for a minute. She might not have been comfortable with talking to such an angry kid, but that might not have to do with her… Maybe she should try again.

"I think I'm going to keep trying talking to him. He's angry, but that might not mean he's a bad guy. I mean, it's clear he doesn't want to be here."

"You want me to come with you?" She asked. "I can provide…moral support."

Tigra smiled, thankful for the support. "Maybe not this time," she answered, "Maybe he'd be more comfortable without…well, an audience."

"You still think he's hiding something after _that_ little outburst?"

"…Maybe?"

"Well," She-Hulk stood, "Go get 'em, tiger." She gave a thumbs up and a wink.

"Please," Tigra rolled her eyes. The _last_ thing on her mind right now was romance.

She got up and jogged past her classmates after Donny. She finally caught up to him, but they could not continue their conversation. The foundation rumbled around them as if suffering from an explosion, and a distinctive hissing sound surrounded them.

"What the…" Don looked around, "What the heck is happening?"

Tigra didn't want to think it. They've had a couple of earthquakes here, while they were inside the academy, but they certainly didn't feel like this.

"The training room," Tigra thought aloud. "We need to get to the training room."

"Why?"

"It's the safest place," she started down the hallway.

"For what?" Don fought to keep her pace.

"I think we're under attack!"

* * *

"This is a Shield facility!" Donny exclaimed, chasing after her. "Who would attack this place?!"

Tigra didn't want to think about the answer. They came across a group of Shield staff, all lying on the floor. Some were bleeding, some weren't moving. Tigra picked out one that she thought looked more alive, and got down next to him. He groaned in pain.

"Easy," she told him, "I got you, I got you. What happened?"

The man seemed to be fighting to breathe. "Under… Attack…" he huffed. "Super… Powers…"

"You need to rest," Tigra told him. She didn't know how to help him. "You're bleeding a lot."

"He's already bled too much," Donny said behind her. "He's already dead. We need information."

Tigra turned to look at him, wondering if he was serious, but he gave no indication that he was joking.

The man in her arms seemed to answer anyway. "Lower… Levels… Find… Fury… Save… Students…"

The man had used the last of his strength. He passed out, turning paler as more blood inked out.

"He's gone," Donny observed. "Come on, we need to leave."

"What?!" Tigra gently set the man down. "What about the Academy?"

"The Avengers can have it." He started to walk away towards an emergency exit.

"This is our home!"

"It's _your_ home, freak," He dismissed, "I don't owe a thing to anybody, anywhere."

Tigra was aghast. How can anybody be so… well, _cold_? Then a thought occurred to her.

"What if it's Hydra?" she called after him.

That made him pause. He was only two feet from the door. Another step, and he would have been outside. He turned slightly back towards her.

"So what if it is?" he asked.

"Then they just attacked a Shield facility full of Avengers," Tigra answered. "They want us back. Do you really think that they'd just give up if you just left, right now?"

He seemed to think it over, visibly gulping. "The-they're after _you_ ," he tried to rationalize, "The rest of you. You're the ones with powers and skills."

"Hydra doesn't care what you are," She pressed further, "They want what you can do. You said it yourself; you're a scientist. You really think they're not interested in you?"

Don didn't answer. He was trembling. He was scared. Scared of going back. Just as scared as the rest of them. Tigra never admitted it herself, but she knew that they all shared the same nightmares of Hydra's torturous experiments.

Tigra looked at her arm, the fur was matted by blood.

"I can't fight them by myself," Tigra confessed, "If we get rid of them here, we can keep them from ever hurting us- or anyone else- ever again."

Donny let out a breath and turned around. "Fine," he said, "I'll help you. But to kill Hydra, not any of this _Heroic Bull_ that you're spouting."

"Fair enough," Tigra sighed in relief. "Let's go."

They made their way down to the basement, where the combat training room was in shambles. Gaping holes littered the walls. Around the training room, and several men and woman littered the ground.

Their teachers had changed over the weekend. Instead of Stark, Banner, and Captain Rogers, this week they had Falcon, Colonel Rhodes, and Barton.

On paper, they should have been a formidable force. In this case, however, it was a different story.

Falcon was passed out on the ground, an ugly bruise forming on his face. One of his wings was sliced of at the joint and tossed aside. Hawkeye was pinned to the wall four feet off the ground by his two arrows in the shoulders of his shirt.

They walked into what they affectionately called the Dojo. Tigra's fellow students laid strewn out all over the floor. Madrox was in a pile all his own. Hercules and Athena were knocked out next to each other, battered but not dead. She-Hulk and Spider Woman were knocked out as well, each one sporting ugly bruises.

The real kicker was the fight happening at the center of the room. War Machine and Whitman stood back to back, each fighting an opponent on their own. Whitman had gotten a new set of armor: thin, black, and missing his helmet. His black sword out and in front of him, blocking deadly blows from his attacker. War Machine's shoulder cannon had been ripped off, and was relying on his repulsors to defend himself, with little success.

Their opponents were something to behold. One was in tight black clothes, and wore a hood and cape, not that much different from that Hood gangster Tigra fought the other day, but it didn't seem that this one had any special mystic powers, at least not at first glance. His right arm was missing, and instead had a mechanical limb with a long, curved blade folded against the mechanization. When the blade unfolded, it was revealed to be a scythe attached at the wrist. He attacked Whitman with a ferocious amount of speed and precision. Whitman barely moved his sword in time to block him.

The other over six feet tall, and had muscles too large to be natural. His biceps were bigger than his head. He had a black leotard with a red zigzag across the chest. His face was expressionless, but he had on red goggles that squeezed tightly around his head. He was currently tanking War Machine's attack with one hand while picking up an unconscious Shield employee from the ground. He threw her like a rag doll, and Rhodes paused his attack long enough to catch the woman. This left him open for the muscly monster to back hand him into the wall.

"Colonel!" Whitman called after him. He then moved to block the next attack, but it was hopeless. As he parried the scythe man, the hulking mass behind him grabbed him by the head and slammed him down into the ground, cracking the floor.

"Whitman!" Tigra called after him. She turned to Donny. "Go get help. I'll hold off these guys for as long as I can."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but Tigra didn't wait for him. She sprinted forward and flipped herself over the hooded reaper. She spun around and slashed at him with her claws, but he sidestepped out her way each time. As she pressed her attack, he kept dodging and only retaliated with kicks and jabs with his normal arm. If he really wanted to hurt her, he'd use the scythe attached to his arm, but he wasn't using it. Why wouldn't he use it?

"Boys," a woman called from the other room. The two attackers gave pause, and so did Tigra. She risked glancing over her shoulder. The woman was strikingly beautiful, but plain. She looked like a regular suburbanite, with white yoga pants and shoes, a green top with white rimmed shades resting on her head. She had a handbag resting on her shoulder, looking like she was a mother that just finished one of her errands on a Saturday morning. Her black hair was so black and shiny, it belonged in a _L'oreal_ commercial. Her eye shadow and lipstick were a dark shade of green.

The woman looked around at the destruction and carnage around the room like it was a set of playground equipment.

"Have you had your fun?" She asked cheerfully.

The hooded one answered past Tigra. "We're dealing with the last one, Madame."

She stepped forward to inspect who he was referring to. When she spotted Tigra, she spread her arms out like she was one of her mother's good friends. "Greer!" she greeted happily.

Tigra didn't really know how to react. She blinked a second. "Who…?"

"Oh, just one second dear," she fished around in her purse and pulled out a flash drive. She handed it over to the hooded guy. "Grim, sweetie, would you mind waiting in the airship with this? And tell Bowman to get the engines ready, I can't call him with the jammer still on."

"Yes ma'am," the guy- Grim- took the flash drive and ran off to who knows where.

"He likes his theatrics," the woman whispered to Tigra. "Goes by the Grim Reaper. It's so cute!"

Tigra refocused on her, but could help glancing at the other guy. He still had Whitman in his hand, but he wasn't moving.

"Oh, right," the woman said, "Simon says, drop him."

Whitman was released, he flopped to the floor. He didn't budge an inch.

Tigra got down next to him and hurriedly checked him over. Nothing broken, and he was still breathing. Maybe the monster's fist had inadvertently protected his head from getting crushed.

"Who are you," Tigra stood and turned back to the mysterious woman. "And what do you want?"

"Greer, honey," the woman put a hand on her shoulder, smiling tenderly. "I'm your mother. And I want what every mother wants. The best for her children."

Tigra smacked her hand away and took a step back. "You… You're not my…"

"No," she agreed dejectedly, "I didn't give birth to you, or any of you friends. But I _did_ make you into what you are now."

"So you _are_ Hydra," Tigra deduced.

"You could even call me _Madame Hydra_ ," The woman said proudly. "Although, I suppose you could also call me Viper. I'm not picky."

"Why are you here?!" Tigra demanded.

Viper looked at her, as if to say _I do not appreciate your tone young lady._ But then she answered, "Why, to take you all home, of course! You don't belong with Shield, sweetie. You need to come home, with me. Honestly, I love my boys, but I would mind if I had a couple of daughters as well…"

Tigra just shook her head. "No. No! I am _not_ going back! Never again! I'll- I'll kill you, first!"

Madame Hydra seemed to lower a disappointed gaze at her. "Simon…" she then said.

The monster behind Tigra then swiftly grabbed her, his freakish fingers easily wrapping themselves around her shoulders. He reeled his arm back and slammed her into the ground, effectively knocking the wind out of her. Tigra fought to regain her breath, and to escape his grasp, with no such luck on either end.

Madame Hydra got on her knees next to her in a huff.

"I am sorry about him," she apologized, "As _wonderful_ as he is, he does have a hard time holding back his strength. He's practically generates all this energy by himself, you know. But all that ionic energy does have its side effects."

She looked at Tigra on the ground. "Oh well," she said, "We can talk more about this at home. Sorry about this."

She leaned down and pressed her lips onto Tigra's. Tigra's eyes widened and she shook her head and tried to fight and knock her head away, all to no avail. Finally, she backed off and sighed. As she fished a handkerchief from her purse she said to her, "I'm afraid I didn't have enough room in my purse for the spray bottle of chloroform."

She got the rag out and wiped her lips. Tigra's thoughts began to cloud, and her vision began to blur. She was losing consciousness.

"Sleep tight, Greery-deary," she said in a sickeningly sweet tone. "When you wake up, we'll have that mother-daughter talk you always knew you wanted."

 _This woman is a psychopath,_ Tigra thought to herself, _I need to fight her. I need to get out of here!_

She tried to fight the sleep, and she struggled against her captor's grip. Her arms were like lead, and her eyelids were closing. She was fighting a losing battle. The last thing she was aware of, was Madame Hydra's sinister smile.


	9. Hydra Attacks! part 2

Tigra's eyes snapped open as she gasped for breath. The light above her was blinding, and the rest of the room seemed to be blacked out. She tried to move, but found that her arms, legs, and head were fastened to a table underneath her. Tigra's heart began to beat furiously, and her head started to spin.

A sliding door opened with a hiss somewhere behind her head. She heard someone's shoes clack their way towards her. She struggled more and more against the restraints. For all her strength, she couldn't break the straps.

Suddenly the person came into view over her. It wasn't a Hydra agent (at least not to her knowledge). Donny looked down on her judgmentally.

"Don't get excited," he told her. "I'm not saving you out of some self-righteous crusade."

"Save it," Tigra sighed in relief, despite his snarky attitude. "Where am I?"

"My guess?" he answered while working the restraints, "A Hydra base."

Tigra fought a shiver up her spine as he freed her head and hand. They worked on the remaining straps as they talked.

"How'd you get out?" Tigra asked him. "Were you captured?"

"No," he answered, "I couldn't find Fury, or any of the other Avengers, so I had to modify my old project into a weapon. By the time I got back, they hauled you and the others onto a carrier. I stowed away. Now I'm here. Severely regretting it now."

Tigra was now freed and she hopped down from the table. Before she could say anything, she swung her arms around Donny and hugged him close.

"You didn't have to come here," Tigra said thankfully. "Thank you."

He shoved her away and brandished a weird looking weapon. "Thank me when we get out of here in one piece."

"Do you know where the others are?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "I know where… _one_ of them is. She had a guard, the last time I saw her."

"Which one?"

"I don't know her name…" He thought exasperatedly. "It's the…Spider Woman, I think."

"Okay," Tigra breathed. "Show me where she is, and we'll get her out."

"I think we should just escape now," Donny suggested.

Tigra blinked. "And leave the rest to die? Or worse?"

"Look," he said, "I got really, _really_ lucky just getting down here to you. We need to get out, grab a Helicarrier, and bombard this place until it's nothing more than a bad memory."

Tigra looked at him in the eye. "I know you're scared." She told him.

"I'm not-" he tried to protest.

"But if we let them go now, they'll just come back bigger and stronger than before. And they won't just attack a building of soldiers either. A lot of good people will die because of them. Don't you have anyone you care about?"

"No!" he said in a hushed voice, "That's the best part about being on your own! You don't have to worry about anyone else but yourself!"

Tigra gazed into his eyes, taken aback by his selfishness.

"You saved me," she noted, "for whatever the reason for that, I thank you. But if you're not going to help me, then you should leave. I have work to do."

With that, she stormed out of the room and into the hallway. She didn't know which direction to go to find her friends, so she just hooked right and hoped it was toward a holding cell of some kind.

A few seconds later, she heard Donny jogging up behind her.

"Get down!" he hissed under his breath.

They ducked behind a large flower pot that seemed more accustomed being outside. These large flower bowls were conveniently big enough to hide behind, and they were littered every fifteen feet down the hallways. A low whirring sound was making its way towards them.

"When I tap your shoulder," Donny quietly instructed, "Hold your breath."

The two of them waited quietly, then it passed by them without incident. Tigra held her breath as instructed, and they stayed completely still until the thing rounded a corner. It was large, metal eyeball that floated at the center of the hallway like something out of the _Jetsons_. It had these little slots under its glass eye, and on its sides. They might have been for weapons, but Tigra wasn't curious enough to test that theory.

"What the…?" she whispered, astonished. "What the heck was that?"

"I think they're security drones," Donny answered, "They're old prototypes from the eighties. Which tells me we're in an old abandoned Hydra base that had only been cleaned up recently. They clearly didn't get the chance to upgrade their systems."

"I didn't think Hydra had robots from the eighties," Tigra whispered as they stood. "Now where did you Jess?"

Donny led her by her arm, "This way."

They got to a room that had the door left open. Voices could be heard in the room, and Donny turned to her slightly, signaling for her to be quiet. They got down by the door and listened.

"…It's good to have you back with us, Jess," one voice said. It took Tigra a minute to identify him as that hooded guy with the robotic arm; the Grim Reaper, or whatever middle school _World of Warcraft_ account name he'd picked.

The sound of someone struggling could be heard.

"You're strong Jess," Grim continued, "But you're not strong enough to break free. Those restraints are tough enough to hold Wonder man."

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't recognize him?!" Jessica suddenly exploded. "How could you do that to him? Eric…You gave Simon- your _brother_ \- to Hydra?!"

"They kept him alive," Grim growled back. "Which is more than what you did for me."

There was a moment of silence before Grim started again. "I died, Jessica. I was dead for a week, and Hydra brought me back. Then Simon got in that accident, and they kept him from falling apart. We all owe Hydra. Jess."

"I'm done working for Hydra, Eric-"

" _I am the Grim Reaper_!" A fist could be heard slamming on something metal. "I am the thing that all men fear. I. Am. Death."

Another moment of silence.

"You'll come around. Spider woman." He then said, "Everyone does, or they disappear."

Tigra and Donny pressed themselves against the wall as the Grim Reaper stormed out in a huff. Tigra unintentionally held her breath as he exited and walked down the hallway away from them. The two sneaking heroes ducked into the room before he turned around and spotted them.

The door slid shut behind them, sealing themselves in Jessica's holding chamber. She was being held the same way Tigra was, only her hands were covered in metal cylinders. Her clothes were swapped out for a hospital dress and slacks.

"Who's that?" Jessica tried to turn her head, but to no avail. "Who's there?"

Tigra hurried over and shushed her.

"Stealth mode, girl," she told her with a sly smile.

She visibly sighed in relief.

"Sorry," she said, "I thought you were Viper."

Tigra worked on the restraints. "Watch the door," she ordered Donny, "Let us know if somebody is coming."

He nodded and stayed by the door, listening intently for intruders.

Tigra turned to Jess. "Do you know him?" she asked her.

Jess flinched slightly, realizing they had heard her conversation.

"I…" she thought for a moment, "You guys were _held_ by Hydra." She let out a breath. "I had to _work_ here."

Tigra didn't answer as she worked on her head strap.

Jess was freed, and Tigra decided on her question. "What kind of work did you guys do?"

Jessica walked over to a chair that had her old clothes folded into a pile. She picked up a shirt and turned to yell at Donny.

"No peeping, boy!" she called out. Donny only gave a thumbs up in response, and continued staring at a crack in the wall.

Finally, she answered Tigra while getting dressed. "My dad saved my life. He worked for Hydra, but I know he cared about me more than anything else. When his boss found out what I could do because of his serum, they tried to take it. They killed him over it, and they took me instead. I was one of their espionage agents. I gathered information, infiltrated targets, and… well, I never _directly_ killed anyone." She seemed to gulp before continuing. "But I am responsible for the death of a lot of people." She paused. "I…don't want any more people to die. Shield saves people (or so I'm told). I want to be a part of that."

Tigra believed her. She was no lie detector, but she could sense the remorse welled up within her. She didn't want to be here. Then again, there was a mischievous side to her as well.

"All right!" she called out loudly, "I'm finally out of that ugly gown!"

She was watching Donny intently. Despite her announcement she was fully dressed in a set of stylish clothes that included heels. Tigra had no idea where she got them, or where she found the time. Donny slightly turned his head.

"Ha!" She pointed him out. "Pervert!"

He turned his head fully at her, scowling. "Would you _shut up_?!" he said in a hushed voice. "There's somebody just out-"

The door slid open and a left cross was delivered to Donny's jaw. He fell back on his butt, and Tigra and Spider Woman launched themselves into action against the returned Grim Reaper.

"How did you-?" he seemed to reconsider asking and flipped out his scythe like a switchblade.

He took a couple steps forward and reeled his arm back. He might have cut both of the girls in half, but he disregarded Donny on the ground. He brought up his weapon and fired a blast of brilliant blue light. Within seconds, the Grim Reaper was covered- head to toe- in a layer of ice.

Tigra seemed to be just as frozen from surprise. She blinked a couple of times before speaking.

"How did… I mean… Wow…"

Donny inspected the technology he brought with him. "I really hope I didn't just kill my only weapon," he muttered. "I am not a good boxer."

"Stick with us, sweetie," Jessica seemed to get over her stupor and get back to her snarky nature. "You have two beautiful ladies to protect you now."

Donny got up and dusted himself off. "Lucky me," he deadpanned. "Now I know we're going to die in here. I only got a glimpse of where _you_ were being held." He pointed to Spider Woman. "I have _no_ clue where anyone else is."

"It doesn't matter if get everyone freed," Jessica speculated. "Not if Madame Hydra is still around." She turned to Donny. "Did you spot any guards? Soldiers? Anybody?"

He shook his head. "They left the Wonder-dolt to do the heavy lifting. Aside from _her_ , there's only two others left."

Spider Woman thought this over. "Okay," she said, "This is how we're-" she paused and looked over to Tigra. "I'm sorry, do you mind if I…"

 _Take control for a minute?_ Tigra thought to herself. "Be my guest," she answered.

"Okay," she restarted, "This is how we're going to do this. If I know Viper, she's sitting pretty with a nice cup of tea in her office. _Pish-posh_ _and all that, love_. We need to take care of her security. Donny, how good are you with directions?"

"Very."

"Good," she walked over to him, "listen up."

She gave him a long list of directions, Tigra didn't know how he absorbed all of that information, but he nodded like he understood.

"Piece of cake," he smirked, proud of his intellect.

"Now, I'm going to bust up one of those drones. Viper's going to send Simon-" she paused for a second. "She's going to send _Wonder Man_ to intercept me. I can keep him occupied long enough for you guys to take Viper down and call for help."

"I don't like leaving you alone with half a Hulk," Tigra told her.

"You have not been paying attention," She said proudly. "I'm Captain Rogers' best student."

Tigra pretended to sound dejected. "He told me _I_ was his favorite…"

The girls giggled and Donny rolled his eyes so hard they almost popped out and rolled across the floor.

"If you two are done," he gestured to the frozen scythe man. "We have villains to deal with."

"Careful, Don," Tigra warned him, walking towards the door. "Somebody might get the wrong idea about you."

"Go on my signal," Jessica held up her hand, "Three… Two… One… Go!"

* * *

Tigra had no sense of where anything was, nor did she have any clue on where an _exit_ for a Hydra facility would be placed, so she swallowed her uncertainty and did her best not to question Don's occasional hard lefts and rights.

"All right," Don then said under his breath. "This is it."

He pressed a button on the wall and the double doors slid apart, opening the way for a carpeted office with a wooden desk. Monitors took up one wall, showing images from what Tigra could only assume were footage from the drones. Several of the feeds were cut, thanks to Jessica, no doubt.

Madame Hydra sat at her desk, the only light of the room coming from either the monitor screens, or the desk lamp. She was writing something when the doors opened, and her lips where shaped in a "o" that might have been humorous if Tigra wasn't ready to kill her.

She stood from the desk. "Well," she said, " _Someone_ is certainly grounded."

Tigra stood in front of Don. "If you surrender now, we'll go easy on you."

"That's a lie," Don piped up.

"Well… Yeah, okay," Tigra answered, "It is a lie, but it'd be easier if you didn't fight."

Madame Hydra gave an unsettling laugh, like she was listening to a small child trying to make a lawyer's case.

"While I would _love_ to see that," she answered, stepping out and around the desk, "I have to say; I'm rather surprised, my dear."

"I told you before," Tigra gritted her teeth, "You're not my mother, and I'm not your daughter."

She raised an eyebrow at her. "Actually, Greer-dear, I wasn't talking to you. The world doesn't revolve around your life, you know."

Tigra glanced back at her comrade, who seems to be frozen stiff.

"Donald Gill," Madame Hydra, "It's been a while since we talked."

"What?" Tigra looked between them. "You… _know_ her?"

"Of course, my child," the woman answered. "He needed my attention most of all. Tell me Donald, do you still dream of your father?"

Don looked down, ashamed. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out.

"Your father…?" Tigra didn't make the connection.

"Of course," Madame Hydra said as though it should have been obvious. "His father worked at Stark Industries for a long time. How long was it, Donald? Twenty years? Then one little accident with an personal experiment, and…"

She held out her arm for him to finish.

"He got fired," Don obliged. "For incompetence."

"But that wasn't the worst of it, now was it?" She nodded sympathetically.

"He could never find another job," Donny provided. "Every day he came home angrier and angrier…"

"If only that accident had never taken place," Madame Hydra narrated, "If only Stark had the golden heart he pretends to have. Hydra knows men who are treated a failures for such mere mistakes. We know what the true evils of this world are."

She paused, stepping closer to the two of them.

Tigra looked between the two of them. She had to stop this, before she talks Donny into firing that weapon at _her_.

"Donny," Tigra grabbed his arm. He snapped his head at her like he just remembered she was there. Tigra tried to remain calm. "I am _so sorry_ that you had to live with that. I can't even… I mean, I know Stark was never actually _perfect_ , but he is _trying_ to make the world a better place. And… I don't think he meant to put you in such a… bad situation."

"It doesn't matter what he meant!" Madame Hydra exclaimed. "It's what happened, isn't it?! She's just another one of his pawns. Just like Shield. The Avengers. The whole world works for Anthony Stark, doesn't it? You know what you have to do."

"Just another pawn," the boy echoed.

"Donny," Tigra squeezed his arm tightly. "I'm your friend. I want to be your friend. And as your friend, I'm telling you; you can't listen to her."

Don's brow furrowed in anger.

"Yeah," he answered. "I know what to do."

He took aim with his weapon, at _Hydra_ , and tried to fire, but an arrow had flown from nowhere and skewered his makeshift gun from the side.

From the shadows stepped out another boy with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back. He was dressed in a copy of Hawkeye's uniform, only it was tinted in a bronze color, with a Hydra badge over the heart.

"I am… extremely disappointed in you two," the Madame sighed. "Fine, I suppose if you want to be Avengers, then I really can't stop you. You'll see the wisdom of Hydra, eventually. You can use the phone over there to call your little friends. Bowman? It's time to make our escape."

The archer notched another arrow and fired it at Tigra and Donny's feet. Smoke surrounded them, and by the time they managed to get out of the cloud, the woman and the archer were gone.

Sure enough, the phone that the Madame pointed out to worked, and Tigra managed to call Shield and work out a ride back to the Academy. Jessica showed up and informed them that not only had she managed to knock out Wonder man, but she found Madrox; who, in turn, found everyone else.

Several hours later, Tigra was telling this story to Director Fury.

"She got away, then," he speculated.

"Yes sir."

Fury seemed to breathe through his nostrils, thinking it all over.

"This isn't over," he warned her, "Not by a long shot."

"Yes sir."

"She let you go so you could let your guard down. Don't. She's going to do everything she can to break you down and drag you back in her control."

"We'll be ready for her." Tigra answered.

"I certainly hope so," Fury sighed. "You're dismissed. Rest while you still can. We're going to work you down to the bone when we get the downstairs fixed."

"What about Wonder- I mean, Simon?"

"We can confirm that he's been brainwashed to hell," he reported, "We'll do what we can. Samson is optimistic, if that's what you're wondering."

"Thank you, Director."

She stood and walked out of the office, only to find Donny waiting for her outside.

"Hey," he greeted, "How was the meeting?"

"Good," she answered, "I didn't mention any of that stuff with…well, you."

"I appreciate that."

Tigra looked at him in the eyes and sighed. She had no idea what his problem was before, but now all she wanted to do was give him a hug.

"Listen," she said, "You don't have to tell me everything, if you don't want to, but…just know that there are good people here. There's not a problem on earth that you have to face alone, okay?"

Don nodded. "Thanks," he nodded, only giving the slightest hint that he was grateful. "I'll keep that in mind."

He held out his hand and they shook. "You have my vote, by the way, if that's any consolation."

Tigra couldn't help but give a little laugh. "Thanks."

Suddenly, his face turned incredulous as he looked past her.

"Mr. Gill. Miss Grant," said the voice.

Tigra spun around. "Mr. Stark."

"I heard what happened," he told them, "Sorry I'm late. Avengers business on the other side of the world. No exaggeration."

There was no response from the two students. Tigra could only focus on every bad word Don had uttered about Stark.

"Mr. Gill," Stark then said, "Can I call you Donny? I heard your father used to work for me."

There was a moment before answering. "Yes sir."

"I also heard you saved the day with that old project of yours," he continued, "I'd love to work with you some time. We could get to work on some armor for you, if you're interested."

 _Here it comes_ , Tigra thought.

"That…sounds fun."

"Great," Stark grinned. "I'll meet you in the workshop in a few."

With that, he walked into Fury's office, leaving the two of them stunned.

"You okay?" Tigra asked him.

"No," he answered honestly, "But I might be. Later."

"We're a team, Don," Tigra told him, "We protect each other. We _Avenge_ each other."

Don just gave her a look. "Is that what your action figure is going to say?"


End file.
